alt Hacker NewsNot parent, but after 1 minute of googling: https://historyfacts.com/us-history/fact/the-u-s-government-...
Note that we are talking about industrial alcohol, which was not made for human consumption but could be distilled to make it palatable (before the toxic additives were added).
They made it sound as if they were poisoning alcohol intended for drinking (looks like it was possibly edited or I missed that it said industrial). Methanol and other additives are still added to most industrial alcohol today.